Rotary driving mechanism



Nov. 11, 1941. A; J. WEINIG ROTARY DRIVING MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet lFlled July l1, 1958 l O ARTHUR QZ Wem/1%* NT P ATTO EY.

Nov. 11, 1941. A. J. WEINIG 2,262,412

- RO'll-xRxr` DRIVING MECHANISM Filed July-11, 1938 5 sheets-shet 2 lINVENTOR. 4R THU/' J WE//v/G Nov. 11, 1941. A. 1 WEINIG 2,262,412l

f/ f f ,',f//w/ 4 l" AT ORNEY.

Patented Nov. 11, 1941 'N UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROTARYDRIVINGMECHANTSM t Arthur J. Weinig,. Golden, Colo., assgnor to i MorseBros.` Machinery Company, a corporation of Colorado Denver, Colo.,

" minimum-July 11, 193s, Vserial No. 218,621

` 13 claims.; (clase-108) This invention relates i to improvements inmechanism for rotary stirring, raking, agitatmg,

materials, either dry orwet.

Its field of usefulness includes such `devices as` thickeners,feeders,roasters, excavators, washers,

agitators and the like, `and any other machine or' operation wheredivided material is to be acted upon by a rotary element and where re-vsistance to such rotary movement is a` variable factor; i

As is well knownlto those skilled` in the art,1` the rotary plows inathickener, for instance, are` subject to lvariable` resistance bythematerial acted upon,`and the mechanism` involved may be twisted,damagedor broken if the resistance becomes toogreat without relief.Furthermore, after a shut-down `of operation in such a device,` solidsmay settle around and on the plows ,andl other rotary `partsof themechanism, so that` `conveyingor otherwise moving normally loose fullydisclosed in the following description and `in` thedrawings wherein likeparts have been similarly designated` and in which: i "Figure 1 is a`sideelevation, partly in section,

. illustrating a thickener built to embody a preferred-form- `of thepresent invention and in `which the novel features of the mechanism havebeen `.drawn to a largervscale than other parts,

such parts must be` raised, dug `out Yor votherwise Y cleared beforeagain starting. In such opera-` tions, a `sudden load increase mayalsolresult by the addition cfa quantity of path of therotary element.

`Therefore, it is an object of this invention to forth thatwillautomatically raise theirotary material into the lprovide a novelmechanism for the purposes set element to relieve or avoid resistance toitsvnormal forward rotarymovement when such resist#r ance builds up to apredetermined degree.

Another object is the provision of such'a mech- Y anismthatcan beselectively raised 'byfpowen i Afurther object is Vto provide amechanismJ of this kind that can be raised with reverse" rotation bymanual means, when the power is off.

Still another `object/is `to provide, in such a device means forautomatically stopping power input thereto by raising or axialdisplacement ofthe rotary element, to alpredetermined point. `A stillfurther object is the provision of shearing means for predeterminingthedegree of ref as soon as the resistance to` for `purposes `of`clearness and a full understanding` of `the invention; i

Figures 2 and 3 are fragmentary sectional spectively of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectionalk View illustratinga modified form ofthe invention.A

Referring to the details of the drawings which are herewith includedmerely as illustrations of typical examples of numerous possibleembodiments oftheinvention, reference character I5 denotes a tank,such`as that of a thickener, in

views taken along the lines 2-2 and 3-3 reywhich isnorm'ally loose ordivided material I6, that is beingmoved toward a central outlet I1 bytarotary element liinclusive of plows I9, carried and rotated byan uprightshaft 20.

l'I'he shaft 20 `is journalledfor both rotary and axialvfmovement 1in" asteady bearing 2| on an A-frame 22, above the tank, and it is providedkwith a screw thread 23 having a relatively large or fast lead angle andanother screw thread of line` or relatively lessllead angle, as attwo'threads `may be the same or opposite hand. Alrotarydriveelement,such as a worm gear 25,1throughwhich the shaft 20 extends, is in lthreaded-engagement `withthe fast lead screw `:11231; and it isjournalled onits extended hub, in

bearing 26 and-is further held against axial dis- Y placement `by athrust collar 21 on said hub.

\ of .design and construction which will be more lifl `A driveshaft28`xdelivers power to drive the mechanism from any suitable prime-mover,such as ane-electric motor, not shown, through a jaw clutch 29` andaworm 30 in mesh with the worm gear 25 onthe shaft 20. A yoke 3| ismounted for` conjoint rotation with the gear 25 and clears the shaft at32. Hand wheels 33 and 34 engage n the fine screw thread 24 of the.shaft, the lower wheel 33 being adapted against the operator. v

A shear-pin 35 may-be placed in a cross hole by its hub 33a tothrustyoke 3|, when desired by the inthe shaft to rotate therewith and engageagainst` the yoke 3| and normally stationary swivelclamps or collars 36and 31,.are positioned around the shaft 20 to bear against and movevertically along stationary guide-tracks `38 and `33 respectively, `whenthe clamps are tightened onto the shaft by means of their respectivehand set-screws 40 and 4I. Each clamp is provided with a radiallyextending arm 42 and a roller 43 that bears for rolling engagementagainst and along the respective tracks as illustrated.

The clutch 29 is operable to disconnect the power shaft 23 from themechanism by means of an arm 44 journalled at 45, and forked at 46 toengage the clutch and at 41 to be engaged and moved upwardly by a setcollar 48 on the shaft 26. An electrical circuit breaker may beinstalled as at 49 to beoperated by the upward or axial displacement ofthe shaft 26, to control or to stop power input to the transmissionmechanism described.

Operation The operation of this example of reduction to practice of thepresent invention is readily understood. The worm gear 25 transmitsdriving torque to the shaft 20 but if resistance builds up to apredetermined degree, some or all of the energy will be converted into aliftingforce by the fast lead screw 23, on the shaft, so that the plowsI9 will pass over the obstacle or will be raised toa point where theresistance to their'forward rotary movement is reduced. If the shaft israised to a point where the collar 48 moves the clutcharm 44, the powerinput will be cut olf to prevent damage to the mechanism. The electricalcircuit-breaker 49 serves a similarfunction when it is acted upon by arm42a.. Both the clutcharm and the circuit-breakerV may be vused or eitheroptionally omitted.

All parts of the transmission mechanism are accessible to an operator inactual practice, by walks and platforms not shown because they wouldobscure some ofthe important features of the machine. When an operatoroptionally desires to raise the rotary element under power,

he may do so by tightening the hand set screw` in either clamp collar 36or 31 which will convert the power energy input from rotary movement tolifting force.

This means of power lifting is designed to greatly reduce the manuallabor involved when` an operator is required to lift a plurality ofthickener rakesin a plant prior to a-shut-down` for abbreviated weeklyoperations or for any other causes. Thickeners built accordingl to thepresent invention may be cared for `bythe usual,

operators who merely walk along a-r platforrrn` not shown in thedrawings, from one thickenerto the next. The operators only have totighten swivel i.

clamp 31 by means of its hand set screwj4l ,on each thickener mechanism,whereupon the Y,rotary elements will be automatically raised to shut olfthe power or disengage the clutches. During the period of the shut-down,the respective mechanisms will be held in theirA elevated positionssince they are held from rotation with reference to their respectivedrive mechanisms by the` tightened clamps.

Upon starting of the operations again, the attendant has only to releasethe hand set screws 4l and their associated clamps 31, whereupon themechanisms then rotate downwardly into their operating positi-ons, andtheir clutches and/or controlling circuit breakers are put intooperative positions quickly and automatically. It will readily be seenthat these features of the present invention are highly important inreducing the manual labor of the usual operators yin,

Other modes of selectively elevating the rotary mechanism are asfollows; the two hand wheels 33 and 34, can be locked together and heldmanually to effect the same result. Or the hand wheels can be locked andthe shaft manually rotated differentially from the rotation of the gear25. Obviously, any relative rotation between the gear 25 and the shaft26 will eect longitudinal or axial movement or displacement of the shaftsince the gear is held against such movement.

The shaft 26 can also be raised manually by using the hand wheel 33 as athrust nut against the top of yoke 3|, either with or without the gearturning under power. When the power is off and the hand Wheel is thusused, the shaft and its rotary mechanism will be raised and rotatedreversely toits normal forward movement, which is an excellent method offreeing the plows from cause of the screw-thread 23.

the operation of any device or anybattery of devices built according tothis disclosure.

a settled superposed load of material. Any lifting of the shaft by anymanual means while the gear 25 remains stationary, will rotate the shaftand its associated mechanism reversely be- The threads 23 and 24 arepreferably of opposite hand to facilitate some of the functions of thehand wheels rotary movement between the gear and the V'shaftV ispossible. In the drawings, Figure 1, the pin 35 is shown positioned inthe shaft for purposes of illustration. During use, a relatively smallincrease in resistance by material I6, to rotation of the driven rotaryelement, will slow and raise the latter and bring the yoke to bearindrivingvv relation against the pin to impart greater torque to theshaft 20, until the pin fails. Thus the improved mechanism that is thesubject of Vthe present invention, is under bothautomatic and manualcontrol to effect the objectives set forth.

Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment of a modied form of the invention andis merely illustrative of another typical use for which it is wlelladapted. for the rabbles of an ore roaster, reference character 66denotes a hearth, 6I the rotary rabbles that are carried on and rotatedb'y'a hollow airconducting driven shaft 62, that is journalled at 63 forboth axial and rotary movement.

The driving or power transmission mechanism comprises a power shaft 64,journalled on supy porting frame 65, at 66. A bevelpinion 61, on shaft64, drives bevel gear 68' to rotate shaft 69 `iournalled on a thrustbearing 10 on foundation 1|, and in a steady bearing 10a.

The shaft 69 has a fine screw thread 12, an annular recess 13, and anupper end portion 69a,

that has a coarse or fast lead screw' thread'14H that engages in thelower portion of driven rabble shaft 62 as shown. Shaft 69 is hollow'asat` 6917.

A hand wheel 15 engages the said vfine thread 12 to thrust against andlock a similarly threaded capstan collar 16 on the shaft 69, whendesired.

An upper capstan collar 11 is keyed to the driven rabble shaft 62 by key11a held by set screw 118; Washers 19 and 86 provide a bearing for theup- 'l' per capstan on the lower one,` and: shearpins 8| connectthe twofor the transmission of limited In this embodiment which is a drive'ahplurality offradial -holes :8l-into which abar or the" like maybemanually inserted to rot-ate i them orto resist rotation thereof asdesired.

` i rIhe lower capstanhas a swivel ring clamp 83, thathas` a` hand setscrew 84 that is provided with a roller 85 which bears against the frameat 65a, Theupper capstan has a similar clamp ring 86,r set screw 81 androller88 that rolls vertically between fra-me parts at 65h. Thecapstan11 is provided with an inwardly projecting annular flange 89m thatprojects into the annular recess 13 of the drive shaft 69. The preferredscrew thread angle or lead angle i for the fast lead screw threads,` inall formsof the invention, is tangent function equals 1 over 3.1416 or alead of one diameter per turn; This angle may be variedto suitconditions. i

.The operation ofthe roaster drive is generic to the thickener drive andis obvious. Resistance to rotation of shaft 62,;Ietherfrom materialbeing moved on the hearth, or` mechanical or manual resistance, willraise the rabble assembly carried on said shaft 62. Shear pins 8lfunction as hereinabove set forth, and are optionallyxused. The lowercapstan collar` 83 and hand Wheel `I5 are used to raisethe rotarj7driven assembly for-a semi-permanent setting, or downward limit, whilethe` inwardly projecting flange 89 of the upper capstan 'H limits theupward axial movement of driven shaft 62 with its rotated members.

The stopping 0f rotation of the lower capstan 83 by any of the disclosedmeans While the shaft 691s rotated will lift the entire assembly .to aminimum elevation at which it may be set by locking with the hand wheel15. Likewise, the same result may be effected by turning the capstan 16while the power drive is stopped.

The upper capstan 11, the driven shaftBZ and the rabbles 6|, function asan integral unit and are under both automatic and optional selectivecontrol as to elevation within the limits above set forth to`accomplish` the desired objectives. Holding the capstan 'l1 fromrotation by manual means or by the ring clamp 86 will convert rotarypower motion into lifting or axial motion.`

Likewise, lifting the rotated assembly by any means for any purpose,while the power drive is stopped, will rotate the rabb-les in adirection that is the reverse from normal. Air for the roaster is takenin through air hood 90 at 9|. The capstansfring clamps and other annularmembers may be made split or in halvesto facilitate assembly.

These examples illustrate the advantages gained and the wide field ofpractical utility of thi-s invention, and its many applications toindustry.

While this specification discloses preferred means for reducing thepresent invention to practice and a preferred embodiment of theinvention, changes may occur to those skilled in the art and may be madewithin the scope of the appended claims, without departing from thespirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent i-s: i

1. The combination with a rotary element o-f the character described, ofa power transmission mechanism therefor comprising a rotarydriveand-lifting member, a rotary driven element in concentric threadedengagement therewith journalled for both rotary and axial movement, andmeans for optionally resisting the rotary movement of the driven elementeffecting relative romember andthe driven` element` whereby the latteris moved axially by said member.

`2. The .combinationY with a thickener tank or fthe like `of a `rotarystirring element of the character described, and a power transmissionmechanism therefor compri-sing a rotary drive-andliftingmember, a rotarydriven element in concentric threaded engagement therewith` journalledfor both rotary and axialmovement, and a normally stationary cl-amp onthe driven element forresisting the rotary movement of the drivenelement effective relative rotary movement between the drive-and-lifting`member and the driven `element whereby the latter is moved axially.V i

3. The combination with a thickener tank or the like of arotaryfstirring element of the character described, and a powertransmission mechanism therefor comprising a rotary drive-andliftingmember, a rotary driven element in concentric threaded engagementtherewith journalled forboth rotary and axial movement by said member, anormally stationary clamp on the driven element for selectivelyresisting the rotary movement of said driven element to axially move thesame, and a stationary guide-track for the clamp. l

4. The combination with a thickener tank or the like of a rotarystirring element` of the charv acter described,` and a powertransmission mech-V anism therefore comprising a rotary drive-andliftingmember, a rotary driven element in concentric threaded engagementtherewith journalled for both rotary and axial movement by said member,a normally stationary clamp on the driven element for selectivelyresisting the rotary movement of said driven element to axially move thesame, a stationary guide-track for the clamp, and a roller on the clampadapted to follow along said guide-track during said axial movement.

5. The combination with a rotary element of the character described, ofa power transmission mechanism therefor comprising a rotarydriveand-lifting member, a rotary driven element in concentric threadedengagement therewith, adapted for axial displacement thereby when itsrotary movement is resisted to a predetermined degree, and meansmechanically to resist the rotary movement of the driven element.

6. The combination with a rotary element of the` character described, ofa power transmis- -sion mechanism therefor comprising a threaded ableshaft supporting the rakes for rotary and elevating movement, ashaft-driving-and-lifting member in threaded engagement with the shaft,for normally rotating the same and adapted to elevate the shaft and therakes when the material being acted upon by the latter resists theirnormal rotary movement to a predetermined degrec, and means forselectively resisting said rotary movement to divert driving force ofthe member into lifting force.

8. A thickener comprising a tank, materialmoving rakes therein, athreaded axially movable shaft supporting the rakes for rotary andtary.` movement` between the drive-and-lifting elevating movement, ashaft-driving-and-lifting member in threaded engagement with the shaft,for normally rotating the same and adapted to elevate the shaft and therakes when the material being acted upon by the latter resists theirnormal rotary movement to a predetermined degree, and a shear-pinconnecting the member with the shaft for resisting relative movementtherebetween to a predetermined degree.

9. A thickener comprising a tank, materialmoving rakes therein, athreaded axially movable shaft supporting the rakes for rotary andelevating movement, a shaft-driving-and-lifting member in threadedengagement with the shaft, for normally rotating the same and adapted toelevate the shaft and the rakes when the material being acted upon bythe latter resists their normal rotary movement to a predetermineddegree, and a clamp for selectively resisting said rotary movement todivert driving force of the member into lifting force.

V10. Power transmission mechanism for a thickener or the like,comprising a threaded rotary drive member, a substantially verticalrotary driven element concentrically positioned through said drivemember in threaded association therewith and journalled for both rotaryand axial movement, and a shear pin connecting the drive member with thedriven element.

11. Power transmission mechanism for a thickener or the like, comprisinga threaded rotary drive member, a substantially vertical rotary drivenelement oncentrically positioned through said drive member and having athread of relatively large lead angle in engagement with the drivemember and another thread of relatively less lead angle and journalledfor both rotary movement and axial movement, means selectively to resistrotary movement of the driven element, and a manually operable axialthrust member in engagement with the thread having the lesser leadangle.

12. In a device of the character disclosed, the improvement whichcomprises a power driven rotary stirring element journalled for bothrotary and axial movement, and means manually to effect axialdisplacement of said element with rotation thereof in a directionreverse to that of its normal power driven direction of rotation.

13` Power transmission mechanism for a thickener or the like, comprisinga threaded rotary drive member, a rotary driven element con centricallypositioned through said drive memberl and having a thread of relativelylarge lead angle in engagement with the drive member and another threadof relatively less lead angle and journalled for both rotary movementand axial movement, means selectively to resist rotary movement of thedriven element, and a manually operable axial thrust member inengagement with the thread having the lesser lead angle.

ARTHUR J. WEINIG.

